Every day I see people walking their dogs on the city streets.
There’s the couple with the two Great Danes — they’re giants…when the dogs are excited it looks like each parent is restraining a small horse.
I see the neighbor marching around with one big dog and one small dog, legs churning furiously.
I spot our friend around the corner with his big white fluffy dog.
And the kind woman with her mini-husky makes the rounds, never in a rush, the pup always sniffing and exploring.
But the comedy is the professional dog walkers.
The ones trying to manage six dogs on six separate leashes.
One dog is trying to cross the street.
Another’s nose is buried in a tree trunk.
One dog spots a squirrel and lunges at the bushes.
Two of them start barking at each other.
The last one just sits down and refuses to move.
And then there’s the person in the middle — trying to keep the leashes untangled, keep everyone out of the street, and somehow move the whole circus in one direction.
They don’t look like they’re walking the dogs.
They look like they’re just trying to survive!
Then I realized:
This is what it feels like when you say yes to too many things.
You start the week with a plan.
Then the requests start rolling in.
- “Can you review this real quick?”
- “Can you jump on a call?”
- “Can you help me think this through?”
Each yes pulls you in a slightly different direction.
And before you know it, you’re not walking your week—your week is dragging you behind it.
This Friday, I’m running a short workshop called:
How to Say No Without Feeling Like a Jerk
Friday at 11:30am ET
It’s $30 — you can register here.
In 30 minutes, we’ll cover:
- The 3 Inner Traps that lead to unwise Yes’s
- 5 Key Principles for handling incoming requests
- The “No” Playbook—how to respond with clarity and grace
It’s not just about saying no more often.
It’s about saying no on purpose, and doing it easily and compassionately, without resentment or guilt.
Make your week go where you want it to—not where everyone else pulls it.
See you there!
